If you don’t require your suburban city to have an active downtown but do need it to have beautiful homes, decent-sized yards, tree-lined blocks, great parks, incredibly safe streets and amazing public schools then put San Ramon on your short-list to check out. Living in San Ramon is pretty dreamy (albeit a bit boring if you won’t take trips into Danville or other major cities in the area) and parents just rave about what it was like for them to raise their kiddos here. 

Family 'Burbs

The Best Thing About San Ramon

As was noted the biggest complaint you’ll hear about San Ramon is that it’s missing an active commercial district. For fun you have to commute a bit to Danville or Walnut Creek for a night’s out. There is a City Center outdoor mall that has restaurants and there are plans for growth in a commercial district but in the meantime you’re driving a bit to find a bar, or music or good cafe.


Downtown Blues

The Worst Thing About San Ramon?

Not shockingly, the lifestyle of San Ramon is built around families. Amazing little leagues (all sports not just baseball) offer year-round sporting options and several [**great parks**](https://www.yelp.com/search?find_desc=Things+To+Do+With+Kids&find_loc=San+Ramon%2C+CA), including one that is fire-truck themed, one that has a musical theme (along with basketball courts, baseball/soccer fields and tennis/pickleball courts), and one that has a beautiful Olympic sized pool and Aquatic Park. There are also wonderful [**hiking and camping trails**](https://www.alltrails.com/us/california/san-ramon) in the Las Trampas Wilderness preserve and Bishop Ranch Preserve so both the kiddos and the grownups enjoy the outdoor lifestyle here. 


Lifestyle of San Ramon

San Ramon has the highest rated schools in the county, grading A+ on [**niche.com**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/san-ramon-valley-unified-school-district-ca/). Every school in the city scores an A or an A+ as well so you don’t need to carefully dissect the neighborhoods to be sure you pick a home in the district with excellent schools. In addition to the core academics rated highly, the district schools also have a great reputation for programs in the art, music, theater and sports programs. If schools are your highest priority for the family and you can pay the price for the homes then San Ramon is your spot. 


Schools in San Ramon

If you live in a big city and have had it with the real or perceived chaos of that place and you want to completely immerse you and your kiddos in the quiet of a true suburban oasis then San Ramon can offer that. 


Suburbia

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Twin Creeks is right along 680 so convenience is major plus if you commute or just want to get the rest of the Bay Area without a long drive.  Most of the homes are from the 70’s and designed with active families in mind. The neighborhood has crazy amenities to keep the kiddos occupied including: 2 community swimming pools, 6 tennis courts, 2 volleyball courts, 2 basketball courts, 2 playgrounds and a number of parks and miles of hiking/biking trails for general play. If you’re looking for a neighborhood for your kids to bond with other kiddos over outdoor play then for sure put Twin Creeks on your list. 

It’s also really close to the two main outdoor malls, City Center and Diablo Plaza and the Bishop Ranch Preserve so you can find plenty to do close by on days you want to get out of the neighborhood. 

Not for nothing Twin Creeks ranks #1 for best place to raise a family in San Ramon!


Families

Twin Creeks

Dougherty Valley is a master-planned community well-known for its beautiful tree-lined streets and large immaculate homes.  There is plenty for the kiddos to do in the neighborhood with several beautiful parks and outdoor recreation options including: Central Park, Hidden Hills and Coyote Creek Parks. These offer big grounds for walking and hiking trails, sports fields, playgrounds, picnic areas, event space for community events and festivals throughout the year. Perhaps most importantly (to some) doggo play areas!  The neighborhood has an added bonus of several excellent restaurants and coffee shops, including Peets for you Peetnik fanatics. 


Dougherty Valley

Southern San Ramon is another excellent option for families and for young professionals comfortable with a suburb. Homes come in a bit less pricey and with more diverse sizes and types available for purchase (not a master-planned neighborhood) at a median price of $1.3m but plenty of smaller homes/townhomes well below $1m and some up above $2m. Most of the neighborhood lines the Iron Horse trail meaning walking, hiking and biking is a simple walk outside your door. 

There are four elementary schools, three middles and a great high school in the neighborhood so walking/biking to school is an option for many.  Finally, San Ramon golf club is also in the neighborhood so for those who like to hit the links this is going to be convenient. 


Families/Young Professionals

Southern San Ramon 

San Ramon

**Moving to San Ramon?**

Hi everyone! My partner and I are young professionals looking to move to a nice, safe area, however, we would like to continue our social lives once covid is a bit more tame. We are in our early twenties. We immediately thought of San Ramon, since it’s so beautiful and known to be incredibly safe. However, are there any other young professionals who live in this area? If not, are there any other safe and quiet locations that we can reside in?

Answer:
If you like the idea of dining out at a range of local restaurants, going shopping at target, picnics in a park, riding bikes along trails and walking around pretty neighborhoods- then you’ll like San Ramon.

What San Ramon does not have is a downtown (city center, as nice as it is to eat, does not count), bars, nightlife, or a large shopping mall. However, for all of that you’ve got Walnut Creek, Danville and Pleasanton all nearby to fulfill those needs. So you should definitely like it.

But remember, the area is getting really, really pricey.

**Thinking about moving to San Ramon**

I’ve lived in SR over 20 years, most of that in the Twin Creeks area. Raised two kids, youngest is now a senior at Cal High. Prior to living in SR I lived in the City. We moved here to afford a house, and to settle down and have kids.

SR is a great place for kids, good schools, good parks, friendly, low crime, etc. It’s quiet, there are not many restaurant choices, and little late-night activities. However, it’s not far from Danville, or Walnut Creek with has more night life if you’re missing that.

Overall it’s a great little suburb. If you’re really lucky you can land a job at one of the businesses in Bishop Ranch and have the worlds best commute; but getting into the City for work isn’t bad either. BART is easy and relatively reliable from Dublin. Commuting to the South Bay however ain’t great unless your company has a private shuttle bus, or you work non standard hours.

It’s the type of place where you can say hi to strangers and start up a conversation with a neighbor while walking the dog.

Edit: also, it’s pretty racially diverse. Lots of people of color from lots of backgrounds. And we didn’t have any blackouts in the recent PG&E issues, but that can be hit or miss block by block...

**What’s the word with San Ramon?**

Great place to raise a family, great schools, and very safe. Not a lot of “excitement”, but there’s some decent social life just north in Danville and up in Walnut Creek. There’s actually some decent jobs in the general area... Chevron, Workday, SAP, Oracle and many other companies have started putting satellites offices in the tri-valley:



San Ramon, California

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